Dr. Kyle Pruett, PhD

School of Medicine, Yale University

Dr. Kyle Pruett, PhD is a well-respected professor of child psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine. He is also the author of Fatherneed: Why Father Care Is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child.

In December 2006, James Dobson twisted and “cherry-picked” Pruett’s scholarly work in a guest column he penned in TIME Magazine. Dobson misrepresented his research in an effort to smear gay families while discussing Mary Cheney’s pregnancy. In a powerful letter to Dobson, Pruett demanded that he “not quote from my research in your media campaigns, personal or corporate, without previously securing my permission.”

Dr. Dobson,

I was startled and disappointed to see my work referenced in the current Time Magazine piece in which you opined that social science, such as mine, supports your convictions opposing lesbian and gay parenthood. I write now to insist that you not quote from my research in your media campaigns, personal or corporate, without previously securing my permission.

You cherry-picked a phrase to shore up highly (in my view) discriminatory purposes. This practice is condemned in real science, common though it may be in pseudo-science circles. There is nothing in my longitudinal research or any of my writings to support such conclusions. On page 134 of the book you cite in your piece, I wrote, “What we do know is that there is no reason for concern about the development or psychological competence of children living with gay fathers. It is love that binds relationships, not sex.”